Introduction: Hume on Testimony and Miracles

Enlightenment and Intellectual Autonomy

• The Enlightenment (roughly 1700-1800) saw the rise of reason, liberal democracy, and science, with a decline in religion and monarchy.
• A key ideal of the Enlightenment is intellectual autonomy.
• We'll examine this through the works of David Hume and Thomas Reid, prominent figures of the Scottish Enlightenment.

David Hume

• Lived and worked in Edinburgh, Scotland.
• Developed a naturalistic philosophical system:
  • Explanations do not appeal to God or the supernatural.
  • Addressed various areas of philosophy without invoking supernatural elements.
• Known for his critiques of religion, though expressed cautiously due to the social context of 18th-century Scotland.

Hume's Essay on Miracles

• Featured in his book An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding (1748).
• Conclusion: One should never believe that a miracle has occurred based solely on testimony.

Testimony

• In philosophy, testimony refers to believing something based on someone else's assertion, whether verbal or written.
• A large portion of our beliefs are based on testimony.

Importance of Testimony

• Hume emphasizes the importance of testimony as a source of beliefs:
  • "There's no species of reasoning more common, more useful, and even necessary to human life than that which is derived from the testimony of men."
  • Example: Beliefs about a city you've never visited are based on testimony from people who have been there, news reports, or Wikipedia.

Hume's Assumption About Testimony

• To believe testimony, there must be evidence that the person testifying is likely to be right (reliable).

• Rooted in evidentialism: "A wise man proportions his belief to the evidence."

• When evaluating testimony, especially about unusual events, the degree of belief should align with the evidence.

  • Example:
    • Waiter says coffee machine broke - believable, likely to be true.
    • Waiter says aliens stole the coffee - less believable. More likely the waiter is wrong or mistaken.

Miracles

• Hume defines a miracle as a violation of the laws of nature, something that has never happened in the "common course of nature."
• A miracle is an exception to an exceptionless regularity.
  • Example: Someone rising from the dead is presented as a miracle, because it has never occurred before.

Hume's Argument Against Believing in Miracles Based on Testimony

• Hume says,

  • "No testimony is sufficient to establish a miracle unless the testimony be of such a kind that its falsehood would be more miraculous than the fact which it endeavors to establish."

• The more unusual the event described in the testimony, the more skeptical one should be.

  • Returning to the cafe example, it's more likely a waiter is wrong than that aliens stole the coffee.

• When someone claims a miracle occurred (e.g., someone rose from the dead), consider:

  • What's more likely: the person is wrong, or someone rose from the dead?
  • Is the false testimony more miraculous then the supposed miracle?

Premises Underlying Hume's Argument

1. Only trust testimony when there's evidence the testifier is likely to be right.
2. A miracle is an exception to a previously exceptionless regularity (very unlikely).
3. People are often wrong when they testify, either sincerely or intentionally.

Conclusion

• Given these premises, one should never believe that a miracle has occurred based on testimony.

• It's always more likely that the person testifying is wrong than that the miracle happened.

• Analogy: Like the waiter claiming aliens stole the coffee, it's is more probable that the speaker provides false testimony than the event(miracle) actually occurred.